Every day hundreds of High School students wake up and don’t have a clean pair of clothes to wear or a winter coat. These are just a few of the needs among dozens of others that stand as barriers keeping these teens from fitting in and succeeding in High School.
We found that 1/3 of homeless adults were homeless as teens and never broke out of the cycle. In our area alone, we have over 300 high school students who don’t know where they will sleep each night, have had parents abandoned them, or who can’t get access to the things they need because they don’t have an adult who cares. When we realized just how severe this problem is, we took action to solve the immediate needs and prevent future homelessness among these teens.
OUR MISSION: Children First Foster Family Agency has been serving the needs of at-risk children for 18 years. As our agency has grown, our vision to increase the scope of services to children, including those outside the foster care system has also enlarged. After hearing about a surprisingly large number of High School students who are classified as homeless, we were compelled to act.
Testimonials From Recent Donations
Thank you so very much for helping this student out!! He was so happy with all of his new stuff. He LOVED his shoes!! I even got a high five!! He put them on as so as I gave them to him. He was wearing his sister’s shoes today, and not happy about it at all!! Thank you so much for all that you do to help our students out!!
This gift helped me a lot because I was always trading or borrowing a lot of my clothes just to have one decent pair of pants and now I have my own clothes. I feel relieved and happy that I don’t have to ask my friends for clothes anymore.
This gift provided clothing that was the right size and not worn out. I now have shoes that do not hurt my feet. I feel more confident in my appearance. I felt like a little girl at Christmas many years ago (I have not had many Christmas’ since) and felt like someone really cares about me. The backpack and supplies were very helpful, but overall this program reaching out helped me feel valued so I could be successful.
Once again I have no words to express how thankful we are for the clothing to gave to this student. This student is living in extreme poverty! The family is living in a small trailer with over 8 people. He is a student who wears the same clothing everyday. He has a hard time washing his cloths and he knows they smell but they are all he has. He was very overwhelmed with your kindness. It truly touched his heart and ours.
Thank you again for caring for our students!!!! SYF is making a big difference in kids lives!!!
The boy who recently received the clothes and food smiled so big when he saw new socks. He only had on one sock that day and asked if he could put on a pair of socks right away. He was wearing the same clothes he’d been wearing for the last few weeks. He couldn’t believe how many things were in the bag and just kept saying “Thank you!” When I saw him the next day, he had on all new clothes and shoes. He walked with his head up and had a smile on his face.
Today, a senior male received clothes, a new jacket, pants, and a phone. He was so excited and kept saying, “thank you, thank you so much”
“I’m so happy right now. I’m just so happy right now. Thank you!” He always wears the same clothes every day and has poor hygiene due to being unable to change clothes often. He left with a big bag of clothes and a big smile on his face. He was in disbelief.
Once again I feel like saying thank you is not enough to express my gratitude!! Thank you so very much for the children`s clothing you provided for our young teen mom. She was so overwhelmed with your kindness! This student is doing life mostly on her own with little support. She was so worried about where she was going to get the money to buy winter clothing for her two children. I could see the a lot of her stress leave.
Thank you again!!!
Junior female who lives with grandma in trailer park hugged me when I handed her the phone. She smiled big and said, “Now i have a number to put down for jobs.”
Thank you for the clothes that were provided to me. They have helped me a lot for my children. Now my children will be able to be warmer for these coming months. I appreciate the things your organization does for me. Thank you very much!
This gift helped my children with warm clothes. They did not have warm clothes. This helped tremendously. I feel relief in knowing my children will be warm. Not having the stress of wondering how to go about.
There is a way that these gifts helped me. The first is I have more clothing. The second is that I am very grateful for these. I feel very happy that you guys did this for me and I am grateful and also my heart felt warm when I got them.
The Design & Process
The Board of Directors at Children First elected to invest over $30,000 to create funding allowances for High Schools through Tehama, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties. We are actively soliciting private and corporate funds to include more schools and sustain the funding resources into the future.
We determined that on-campus High School counselors and administrative staff and have the best vantage point to identify youth who are experiencing extreme poverty or homelessness. We ask them to appraise the needs that are preventing students from participating fully in their High School educational, social and athletic opportunities, and communicate those needs to us; keeping the student’s identity anonymous.
The individual needs are considered among a funding council at Children First. They weigh the needs against funding balances for the school from which the request was made. Upon approval, the needed items are purchased, delivered to the school administration who then give the items to the students.
How You Can Help
We don’t have storage to receive donated items, and we are working hard to get each student what they want in specifics of color and brand whenever possible, so financial donations are the best way to get these needs met. You can donate by clicking on the Donate button below. Select the high school you want your donation to benefit and make your check or credit card payment through the payment options provided. If you don’t have a specific high school in mind, just click “Wherever Needed” on the dropdown menu. You will receive an email confirming your tax deduction receipt for your donation.
Increase Awareness: You may know of a High School student who is struggling, couch-surfing, or appears to not have adults who are caring for them. Please contact your High School administration office and give them the student’s name, recommending them for assistance from the Solutions for Youth Fund. They will confidentially reach out to the student and see what can be done to help. Join us in this and help us secure their future!
Your Donations In Action
Children First FFA is grateful for the generous donations made by our local sponsors.
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